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August 7, 2008

Report: Sox Claim Brian Giles

has learned that the Boston Red Sox have claimed Padres right fielder Brian Giles off the waiver wire, if only to keep him away from the two teams with better records in the American League. Thus, Boston entered a 48-hour period in which the Sox have exclusive rights to try to work out a trade with San Diego.

Fox reports that Giles (who is 37, but has played 99 games in right field, hitting .296/.391/.424, 124 OPS+) has a partial no-trade clause which include Boston, so he would have to waive that for any deal to occur.

I'm not clear where Giles would fit on the Red Sox, who are already rotating four outfielders -- Could Crisp be dealt? Is Ortiz's wrist a bigger problem than reported? -- or if he would approve a trade to a team that would likely not start him more than three times a week.

Also: David Aardsma should be activated before tomorrow night's game in Chicago. Chris Smith has been optioned to Pawtucket.

Tampa's said to need a RH bat, assuming Baldelli doesn't come back or can't perform, so maybe their speculation is accurate that they're doing it to keep him away from the Rays. But why wouldn't he just reject the trade if that's so?

Wouldn't a trade of Coco rely upon him clearing waivers first, before the 48-hour window closes? Unless he already has...What's the point in these rule anyway? It just seems so overly complicated, and for what? I would like to know what was the basic problem they were trying to address when they made this up.

Also, FUCK YOU GLOBE yet again. This is from an article about Pedroia and his pregame routine:

Manny Ramírez, are you reading this? Could we transplant Pedroia's demeanor into Ramírez's mind-set? What would you get if you combined the two? You'd have the greatest ballplayer who ever lived.

That globe article is so dumb. Manny is one of the best ballplayers who ever lived, and it's because HE IS MANNY RAMIREZ.

New England has a fucked up sense of priorities.

I like the idea of trading Coco, and not because I don't like him, but because he wants to play full time somewhere and he deserves that opportunity with his ability. Giles would be an excellent bench outfielder. I hope this is where we are going. Kudos to Theo if that happens.

Don't totally understand this move, unless there are injury concerns or they have something in the works with Coco. It seems like the Sox already have four starting outfielders. If they need any help, it's the infield (though they *really* need help in the bullpen.)

Having Giles as Tizzle insurance wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, especially if he DHs and Ellsbury stays up. I'd be sad to see Crisp's awesome glove go, but I wouldn't be sad to see his bat go. Who knows how long Coco would have stayed in Boston if the wrist injury hadn't happened and killed his batting ability?

coco's been anemic (michael kay's favorite word) at the plate for the better part of his 2+ years with the sox. i understand his glove is great, but now that bay (according to everyone and their mother he's supposed to be a great fielder, right?) and ellsbury being almost as good as coco in center (another year or so he'll be just as good if not better) i think its time to end the Coco era in boston.

How about its a player profile? As for an editor worth his red pencil I leave that conjecture to other people. I personally have no problem with it being in this article except that I think its a cheap shot taken at someone who can't respond, which of course is one of the reasons why the "paper media" is slowly (actually sometimes rapidly) killing itself off.

Of course if you guys would quit pointing to the globe for articles I would continue to ignore it like the rash it has become in the last few years (well, except for Ryan).

It appears the Sox may have claimed Giles as an attempt to block the Rays from getting him. The Rays have been on the lookout for an outfield bat since failing to aquire Jason Bay at the trade deadline.

That said, it could also be an indication that the Sox are worried about Mike Lowell's injury being more serious than expected. In addition, since JD Drew can be DL-happy, it could be further bolster outfield options as it appears they are not satisfied with Coco as our 4th option.

This guy on 1st and 10 is really an ass. Now the USA bball team doesn't want to be playing for America. They want to be on vacation. Sports media is full of idiots. I know I am preaching to the choir but this is real bad. They want to be important. The favre coverage was ridiculous.

I think some of it may be the extra sensitive nature of the subject makes it stick in the collective conscience more.

Any comment is going to be quite subtle, generally. More along the lines of the general comments about white guys being scrappy and gritty and getting the most out of their ability and darker-skinned guys being natural athletes.

A long time ago I read something on this with various announcers' comments about Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. It was amazing.

Is there a cultural difference that appears to be laziness?

Most players will conserve their energy for when they need it most. Hence, Manny not sprinting to get a ball (with no one on base) that is going to a double anyway no matter what. There is no need to do so. Someone might think he was being lazy. It's just common sense and smart baseball to me.

That guy you love from the Globe is live on ESPN now. Trashing Manny. Calling it a sit-down strike and intentionally not swinging. When confronted with manny's 350 avg in the last month he brought up the missed games and slowly running to first. He also brought up the Rivera strike out. Dan is also in LA right now just so he can really dig into the Manny story. Wonderful stories to come.

LA Times:The baseball commissioner's office has not launched a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Manny Ramirez trade and does not plan to take action against any party in the deal, his spokesman said today. The Boston Globe reported in today's editions that Commissioner Bud Selig had ordered an investigation into "the circumstances of Manny's final hours with the Red Sox." Pat Courtney, the spokesman for Selig, said the commissioner had asked for clarification on several issues involving the trade and did not order a formal inquiry into the matter. "There were some follow-up calls," Courtney said. "It's closed. It's not ongoing."